Category: News

September 13 2017

The Game-Changing Cars and Concepts at the Frankfurt Motor Show

This year at the Frankfurt International Motor Show, automakers showed the heights and depths of their ingenuity. Relatively speaking, of course. Ferrari showed an “entry level” supercar, the $234,000 Portofino, while Mercedes-Benz showed the ultimate Formula One-inspired car it could conceive, the $2.7 million AMG Project One. Lamborghini discussed the eventuality of hybridization within its […]

September 13 2017

It’s Tough Getting Crude Oil From an Italian Olive Grove

Eni SpA has been adept at producing oil in some of the world’s most hostile environments, from the deserts of North Africa to the Arctic Ocean. It’s proving less sure-footed at keeping the crude flowing in the olive groves of its own backyard in southern Italy. Val d’Agri — more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) southeast […]

September 13 2017

Exxon Must Disclose Accounting Details in N.Y. Climate Probe

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s attempt to use "accountant-client privilege" to avoid handing over audit documents in a politically charged climate-change probe was dealt a final blow by New York’s top court. The finding on Tuesday affirms a 2016 ruling that Exxon must comply with a subpoena by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is investigating whether […]

September 12 2017

Power Grids Serving 99 Million Americans Have Record Low Prices

Spot electricity prices are posting record-low averages on grids covering the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest. While that’s good news for the more than 99 million Americans they serve, it’s not so good for generators that rely on the wholesale market for revenue. Daily demand touched all-time lows in some areas this month […]

September 12 2017

Tesla Automation Faulted by NTSB in 2016 Fatal Florida Crash

Tesla Inc.’s design of its Autopilot system contributed to a 2016 fatal crash in Florida, U.S. accident investigators concluded as they recommended all automakers prevent autonomous driving systems from being used on roads for which they are not designed. The National Transportation Safety Board, in its first probe of autonomous driving technologies, recommended Tuesday that […]

September 12 2017

Solar Developers Hoard Panels as U.S. Tariff Threat Looms

Solar developers are suspending construction as the looming threat of U.S. import tariffs has driven up prices and spurred hoarding, crimping panel supplies. “We’ve had roughly $500 million worth of work that we’ve had to put on hold,” said Scott Canada, who oversees renewable energy projects for McCarthy Building Cos. of St. Louis. “The supply […]

September 12 2017

Pennsylvania Is Next as Nuclear Plants Seek Subsidies

By Richard Stubbe Exelon says Three Mile Island will close in late 2019 New York, Illinois have passed Zero Emission Credits Even as the market is discouraging new nuclear plants in the U.S., states are paying the existing ones not to close. Exelon Corp., which won state subsidies for its money-losing nukes in New York […]

September 12 2017

VW to Build Electric Versions of All 300 Models by 2030

Volkswagen AG is putting its full force behind a shift into electric cars as the world’s largest automaker moves away from combustion engines and tries to draw a line under the emissions-cheating scandal that’s weighed on the company for two years. Speaking on the eve of the Frankfurt auto show, Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller announced […]

September 12 2017

Shell Retail Looks to the Future With Car Charging, Clean Fuels

Royal Dutch Shell Plc wants 20 percent of income from its retail forecourts to come from vehicles that don’t burn diesel or gasoline, as the company anticipates an accelerating transition to clean energy over the coming decade.  Shell set up its first hydrogen refueling station in the U.K. earlier this year and will install its […]

September 12 2017

How One Woman Tried to Stop a $10 Billion Theft

By Anindya Upadhyay and Rajesh Kumar Singh Ritu Maheshwari learned quickly how recovering part of the $10 billion a year of electricity stolen across India could be a career-limiting move for a young, female bureaucrat. As a newly minted official at the Kanpur Electricity Supply Co. in 2011, Maheshwari installed new meters across almost a […]